The romcom is effortlessly charming in its second season, blending silly jokes, emotional moments, and Seth Rogen’s brilliant comedic touch making it completely irresistible.
Review: Nobody Wants This – Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Spark in Season Two
The LA-set romcom Nobody Wants This returns for a second season, and it’s just as easy to adore. Full of silly jokes, emotional depth, and featuring Seth Rogen’s brilliant comedic touches, the show remains effortlessly engaging.
Noah (Adam Brody) and Joanne (Kristen Bell) have always faced challenges in love. Noah is a rabbi, and Joanne is an agnostic sex podcaster—plus, as Noah’s mother points out, she’s a “shiksa,” or not Jewish. In season one, Joanne tried converting to Judaism to be with Noah but ultimately realized it wasn’t morally right to adopt a faith for convenience, leading to their breakup.
Despite this, true love proves hard to ignore. The season one finale ended with Noah chasing after Joanne to admit he couldn’t have both her and his calling—but leaned in for a passionate kiss anyway. Season two largely sidesteps that drama, instead focusing on the couple’s everyday life and quirky dilemmas: will their first dinner party go smoothly? Should Joanne feature Noah’s stylish bedside water carafes on her podcast?
Their relationship does have consequences when Noah is passed over for his dream role as head rabbi, though he quickly finds a new position at a more progressive temple. Seth Rogen and Kate Berlant, as part of this new temple, deliver some delightfully underused comic relief.
The question of Joanne’s conversion still lingers. Inspired by creator Erin Foster’s own experience of converting for love, the storyline explores how Joanne might gradually embrace Judaism. Unlike her overly spiritual mother—who suddenly connects with the faith during a Purim party—Joanne remains sceptical, offering a relatable take on navigating love and belief.
Season two continues to balance humor and heart, with Bell and Brody’s chemistry at the core, making Nobody Wants This an easy series to fall for.
At times, the show’s attempts at simplifying Judaism can feel awkward. For example, Noah’s sister-in-law Esther likens the religion to a kind of “hygge,” claiming that because Joanne is “warm and cosy,” she is “basically Jewish.” She points to traits like being “funny,” nosy, and loving to overshare as markers of Jewishness—equating human archetypes with a faith that has a complex set of rules (especially when marrying a rabbi) comes across as a bit shallow.
Fortunately, Nobody Wants This shines in other areas. The chemistry between Adam Brody, who still carries the charm of Seth Cohen from The OC, and Kristen Bell, with her signature sharp wit, is as electric as ever. Joanne’s younger sister and podcast co-host Morgan (Justine Lupe) remains a standout comic presence, now with a love interest in the love-bombing therapist Dr Andy (Arian Moayed). Other subplots, like Morgan’s friendship with Noah’s older brother Sasha (Timothy Simons), add both humor and emotional depth as these characters navigate their own personal struggles.
With a steady stream of clever jokes—more smirks than belly laughs—and subtle observations (like Joanne enjoying getting Noah to kvetch or Noah’s mild moral slips with past partners), the show remains effortlessly enjoyable. Nobody Wants This is easy to love, especially if you don’t dwell too much on the theological complexities at its heart.